To Last Long, Last Longer
by Deruptus Ac Fragmentum
Summary: “I’m your long lost sister” she sighed “At least that’s what I think and hope to be” - I hate writting summaries, which shows just how bad I am at writting them...
1. Prologue

Prologue

The clouds were just beginning to part to let the small amount of rare sunshine to flow through: the rain had stopped a few minutes ago. Slowly making her way down the small pavement, the trees jutting out and brushing against her occasionally, she reached the tall gates. Stopping, she took a glance at Croft Manor in the distance.

_Is that really...?_

She didn't hesitate walking straight through seeing as the gates were wide open. Moving quickly down the long gravel path, jogging up to the doors of the house, briefly halting to gather her courage which she had lost for the first time in the last nineteen years of her life and going over the small amounts of information which lead her to believe this was the right place, she knocked on the door.

Waiting for someone to answer the door she quickly took the time she had to take a closer look around noticing the sun nearly out of its usual constant cover of clouds: taking in the appearance she realised that not much had changed and the fact reassured her, that everything looked _familiar_.

Finally the door opened revealing a brown eyed, long haired brunette.

"Yes?" the brunette raised her eyebrow "Can I help you?"

_She even_ sounds_ familiar. It should be a relief but what on earth am I supposed to say?_

"Are you, by any chance, Lara Croft?"

"Yes, that would be me" Looking a little amused and annoyed she focused on the raven haired girl who looked a little over twenty in her doorway.

"Well, then, I hope I don't sound like a complete idiot but," She broke her hands free of the clasp they had been in behind her back and looked Lara in the eyes, gathering the remaining shreds of the courage she had built up minutes ago she said; "I'm your long lost sister" she sighed "At least that's what I think and hope to be"

AN/ _This is the first Tomb Raider story I've ever tried to write and I just want to find out if Lara and the rest of the characters are IN character. If not please tell me!_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Is this some kind of joke?" The disbelief obvious in her tone.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, I suppose that was wishful thinking but no this is not a joke and I have the records to prove it"

She stood silently for a moment, mulling over the huge claim this stranger had made. Now that she thought of it she realised she didn't even know her name.

"And you are...?"

"Ayra"

_Strange name_ Lara thought, but fitting looking at her appearance: Raven hair falling to her hips and over her eyes because of the straight fringe, dark amethyst eyes and pale skin complimented by dark black coloured clothing. Her stance similar to when _she_ was uncomfortable, the uncanny curl of her lips as they twisted up from one side as she analysed the situation and the strange position she was in. Meeting her sister. Lara. For the first time in the last nineteen years or so.

Of course it was strange.

"How and why do you believe that _I_ am your sister?"

"Lots of research, you know the usual, adoption, hospital records, and large numbers of people who just 'happened' to know who I was for no apparent reason when I visited them, which would be _your_ family members"

Although Ayra hadn't given her any significant reason to actually listen, Lara asked her to come in without realising that she felt a small pull to this strange girl who seemed so much like herself without knowing anything about her.

Taking a step into the manor, she automatically looked to her right. A huge glass wall stood about at least thirty metres away separating the main hall into a full tech zone, wires coming out of apparently no where wrapped up in small crevices between different bits of technological gear. In the middle of the room sat two curved desks facing each other, in the middle a dark skinned and dark haired man sat causally tapping away on something she couldn't see clearly. He didn't look up as Lara softly closed the door behind her.

Looking to her left a staircase travelled up and split itself in to half leading to two balcony's that faced each other being held up by small sized columns, both had a large number of doors which ultimately lead to different rooms.

Twisting her eyes flawlessly to her front she saw the elegant fireplace with the fire crackling away, long cream coloured sofa's surrounding it, a long wooden coffee table in the middle, on top of it stood a few short stacks of books most of which were opened and being read by a man who appeared to be the same age as Lara.

Brown eyes with glasses half covering them looked up as she took a few small steps forward. Although he didn't say anything the curiosity was clear in his face, seeing as he wouldn't be getting any answers from Lara or her for that matter he went back to read.

She turned around quickly to see Lara moving through the door on the far left side of the hall which opened up to another long hallway leading outside with a stone arch. Following Lara through the garden she soon spotted the small round table and the chairs neatly placed around it.

"Take a seat" Lara said startling her from the small observations she was making.

_Geez, could this be any more formal? _Ayra secretly thought taking a seat as she felt a sudden nervousness wash over her. Turning her head to her 'sister' she saw the clear scepticism on her face.

"Those records you mentioned?"

Quickly taking off the small backpack she had been carrying she found the small file and handed it to Lara. As she watched her go through them she saw the small flickers of disbelief and defeat in her eyes, clearly she was a little more convinced about what had been said. A little.

"So, you have the information to prove it but how do I know you didn't just forge these somehow?"

"Well, I guess we could go down to the hospital I went to or you're just going to have to believe that I'm not some kind of deranged asylum escapee"

"Hmm, I'll choose to believe you"

Although Lara had said she believed her, she could see that Lara, obviously, didn't.

_I guess she's going to be escaping at night to actually search for that _one_ hospital to try and prove me wrong I suppose she's a little like me in that prospect since I'd do the same thing in her position._

"I think I'll introduce her to them then" Lara mumbled thinking Ayra couldn't hear her.

Getting up, Lara quickly walked back to the main hall expecting her to follow. As soon as they opened the door and stepped through both the men Ayra had observed looked up, she noticed the dark skinned one had moved from his position to sitting next to the other one on the long sofa next to the fireplace.

"Zip, Alister, I'd like you to meet Ayra" She noticed that Lara hadn't mentioned the sister part.

_Then again I don't blame her._

"Hello, it's nice to meet you" Alister greeted as he got up to shake her hand, which she returned with a hard edged smile, seeing through the 'facade' they had put on since Lara had silently sent both Alister and Zip secretive glances conveying exactly how she felt about her being there.

"Hey" Was Zip's less formal reply which she silently thanked. The few but constant formalities were beginning to get on her nerves especially since they were said just to be polite to her instead of just letting her know she wasn't exactly welcome.

"Well," Lara paused trying to hide the fact that she was discreetly displeased with the current events "I'm going to show Ayra to her room since she will be staying with us for a" Pausing "a while"

Although Ayra was shocked that she hadn't suddenly kicked her out, she didn't complain about the decision her...sister had made, the term still made her uneasy seeing as she had thought she had lost her family a long while ago and thought that she would never see any living family member again.

At least, not until she was dead.

Three hours later Ayra was lying on her bed, her feet dangling off the bed and her arms lying parallel to her body as she scrambled through the mess that was her brain going into overdrive. She had realised from the first moment her _sister _had said she believed her, that she would be trying to find a way to slip away and try and prove her wrong but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Through the silence she heard a small crashing sound come from the left of her bedroom door, deciding quickly to see what happened she moved to get up, tied her hair into an intricate bun in the matter of seconds and reached for the door.

_I've got nothing better to do; I guess it doesn't do any harm._

As she wandered down the first few steps of the stairs she effortlessly twisted and hid behind the large stone pillar right next to the first step. Doing this she saw that the three she had met earlier today were casually sitting on the sofas.

"I'd like to do my own little bit of research on this girl, there's something about her I don't trust" Lara paused zipping up her coat which she had thrown on.

"So you really think she'd go through that much trouble just to try and get you to believe her?"

"I have to admit it doesn't make much sense Lara" Alister commented as he narrowed his eyes at Zip.

"No I don't think she would but that nagging suspicion is somehow linked to that; I can feel it. Anyway just make sure she doesn't _do_ anything, I'm a little tired of having to track down thieves; I hope she isn't one of them. I'll be back later boys" She paused "please do _try_ not to destroy anything in your arguing"

_She's a lot more observant than I gave her credit for I have to say. I'm surprised she didn't resist the sisterly part of that conversation._

Quietly moving back to where she came from, Ayra made herself literally invisible, feeling her whole body merge into a state of nothingness.


	3. Chapter 2

AN/ Imagine her room from the side the windows on. Please R&R! And a big 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' to everyone! (Although it's a little late)

* * *

Chapter Two

Six mind numbingly boring hours later Ayra lay in her room.

Yet again, thinking.

A gentle breeze sent the light white curtains flying, brushing against the small cobalt blue sofas. She sighed and got up, slowly treading through the arsenic coloured carpet; Ayra closed the glass door that attached the room to the small balcony. Turning around she noticed the long wall lined up with book cases, which were undoubtedly lined with books, from the right of her bed which rested in front of the right wall.

Although no one suspected it, she loved to read. She'd read almost everything, from archaeology to fiction but of course it had to be written well. So, because of this she wandered away from the window and examined the tittles. Most were historical records but what they were doing in this room was beyond her.

Picking up a book at random she began to read as she sat on the end of the white framed bed, the sapphire coloured sheets gently moving as she settled down. A few minutes passed as she read in silence, enjoying the small amount of solitude she had been given, she looked up as she stopped skimming through the thick navy blue book which lay in her hand.

Scanning the room properly for the first time she saw the wide arched fallow coloured door in the left corner, the large wall sized window on the left of it that split into two, one being a door leading to the outside balcony. Almost _everything _had a fallow coloured frame, and was entirely decorated in different shades of blue. The wall was a plain white with only two mirrors which faced the window. The door in the left front, a thin trail like copper line engraved into it.

The moonlight fell through the window on to the three cobalt blue coloured sofas which were set into a semi-circle, a long, copper table in the middle. The bookcase she had gotten her book from ran along the long wall until it stopped short at the entrance, the shelves were wide and short in height to allow the large amounts of books to fit. The bedside table sat about two metres from the bookcase at the right.

Getting up she went to place the book back where it was. She had turned the lights off and yet as she placed the book she saw the small perfect split in the wood that wasn't supposed to be there. Out of instinct and curiosity she removed the few books from the sides noting that there weren't any more of them. On a second guess she removed a few more books and set them on floor. As she examined the top and bottom shelf she saw the line run down and continue from top to bottom as she took more books out.

Crouching down she saw the thick layers of dust lined up in front of the split despite the books that had been there. Swiping her hand across she spotted the split which ran down from the same point from the back.

Backing away from the bookshelf, she moved across to the end, feeling the sides of the shelves she felt the wood fray from the edges. Pulling gently at the edges a long wooden strip peeled off. As she slowly did the same with each shelf they slowly revealed one long split running down from the very top to the bottom.

Holding her breath, she heard a small rustling from the hallway outside the door. Despite the enormous amount of curiosity running through her system she moved across the room she reached the door, silently and slowly turning the knob, she opened the door. Trying to pass it off as paranoia she closed the door when she saw it was empty and devoid of any life.

Returning and reaching for the bookcase and barely using her strength, she put her hands between the narrow slit and pulled. Dust flew to the ground as the bookshelf was forced apart. As it was separated she realised there was a simple plain white door with no frame. Opening it a small amount of dust flew out, swatting it away with her hand she could clearly see the ancient walls covered with cobwebs.

_Why on earth did she let me stay in this room? She probably didn't know. Which seemed incredibly unusual, just by speaking to her you could see she never missed a thing. The bookcase must have been added a long time ago._

As she walked inside she almost stumbled and fell over a small broken part of the ceiling which had fallen off. Deciding that's it's probably not the best idea to be wandering around in the dark she quickly lifted her hand which started to emanate a dark amethyst colour with a black glowing outline, despite its colour it brightly light the room.

Rolling her eyes she thought; _**God**__, How old is this place?_

Pushing her hand away from herself and lifting it higher, she saw the crumbling stone desk in the middle of the room. It wasn't the desk itself that was interesting or the age of the room, it was the single tiny box which sat in the centre of it. A few papers which were crumbling around the edges and had a tremendous amount of creases were thrown about carelessly around the box. Moving forward she lifted her other hand. Gently picking the lid up with one hand she put it to the side. Inside lay a small black jewel like diamond but, strangely enough, it glowed a bright white.

Before picking up the jewel she observed the old papers. Although they were not yet completely deceased, the writing had almost entirely faded. The only words left visible in the writing were

_Infinite Doors._

Quickly leaving the papers, considering they looked like if even dust fell on them they would fall apart, she turned her attention to the jewel. Carefully picking it up she examined the two sharp points and noticed that something had been engraved on each face of the jewel. Though it wasn't clear what was written she could see the small initials but they weren't clear _enough._

Deciding to leave the room for the time being she placed the jewel back in the box and left it there considering no one knew about the place. Except her. Even though she was amazed by the small discovery she had made she did not show it. Her face blank, her posture indifferent as she slid the bookcase back into place. Feeling a little tired she changed and laid on her bed, besides, it was well after midnight.

* * *

Despite the time she had fallen asleep she woke early in the morning, the sun shining on her face. She inwardly groaned.

_Today is going to be __**really **__awkward. This whole thing is __**beyond**__ awkward!_

Knowing she couldn't stay in her room forever she clawed her way out of the bed which had wrapped itself around her during the night, trapping her effortlessly.

Walking over to the 'wardrobe' which was conveniently a small room near the bathroom door, she'd placed the few things she had brought along with her inside the room. Taking her time she was eventually, ready. Or, you could say she felt out of place.

_Might as well get this over with._

Walking downstairs, into the kitchen, which she had no trouble finding due to the small silent tour Lara had given her. Silently walking in she saw Zip in the kitchen. He casually greeted her with a 'hey'.

"Hello" She replied. He seemed comfortable with her being there so she stayed where she was, taking a seat at the small table which was set in the middle of the kitchen. Resting her elbows on the table she clasped her hands together. Too preoccupied with her thoughts yesterday when she saw the manor for the first time, she took another look around. The floor had glass looking tiles, reflecting everything that rested upon it and its surroundings, the walls a bare white cream colour. Two of the walls had two large wide windows resting in them, one opened for the time being to let the air through and for once the sun shone down into the room.

The tall but slim counters were lined up on the same walls as the windows, all were coloured a very light sepia. A few small cooking appliances rested on some of them, to the right she saw a white coloured door which she guessed led into a walk in refrigerator. The table, where she currently sat, was light wash of beige with small plain chairs of the same colour.

"Want something?" Zip asked interrupting her thoughts as he pointed with his eyes to the frying pan he was currently holding.

Not sure what to say she shrugged.

At this he replied "I'll take that as a yes" Turning he rummaged around for plates and placed one in front of her. Glancing at the food, it seemed appetizing but she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with a sudden wave of discomfort.

Seeing the look on her face he added jokingly "It's not poisoned you know"

Looking up she saw that he had sat on the chair diagonal from her position. Trying to let the feeling slide she reached for a fork slowly and took a bite. As she had thought it was as good as it had looked, she continued to eat slowly. Finishing she got up and washed everything herself, something to which Zip did not complain. The sudden rush of discomfort had come back. She looked at the time and saw it was only around eight am in the morning. Saying a quick 'bye' to Zip while thanking him, she went and got her coat which she put on over the black jeans and grey shirt she wore.

Heading for the door she figured no one would have anything against her leaving, with that thought she closed the door behind her knowing she wouldn't be back until a few hours had passed.

* * *

Quickly performing an impressive backward double flip Lara landed on the thin narrow beam at the top of the gymnasium. She had escaped here to avoid Zip and Alister they wouldn't stop asking questions, Winston had been better in that prospect, he hardly asked anything at all.

She had gone to all the local hospitals and asked almost every receptionist in hopes that they had seen Ayra. After searching for at least a few hours she had ended up to one of the most abandoned looking hospital on the outskirts of London, which was inevitably the very place where Ayra had been born. After she had found the doctor himself she was surprised he still worked there considering his age. Once given the chance to let her eyes wander she saw that the hospital was crowded and full of life. She had been surprised but not as much as she had thought she would be.

After getting a little impatient she had finally and bluntly asked for the proof which would have proven her wrong anyway. To say the least she had been shocked, to find herself almost completely believing that the woman at her house right now was in fact indeed her sister. Despite the overwhelming evidence she still didn't trust her. And at this she was still thinking

_Why didn't mother and father ever tell me?_

Also feeling a little disturbed, she abruptly thanked the doctor and headed home, deciding that if there was something else she was missing she would find out herself sooner or later.

Bringing herself out of her thoughts she quickly walked along the beam keeping her balance, seeing the small ledge that was still large enough to stand on, she jumped. Landing on it she quickly hugged the wall to prevent herself from falling.

An hour had passed since she had come in here and she decided it was enough for now and so, she found a route back down. Half jogging, half running she made her way to her own room. Showered and changed she later left and went downstairs to the main hall.

Finding Alister already sitting there she took her chances and joined him.

_The questions should start flowing a few seconds._

"So, what do you think of the guest?" He asked showing his curiosity clearly.

"What do you want to know?" Answering as she secretly tried to avoid the subject.

"Surely you're not used to the fact that she's here and that she just so _did_ turn out to be your biological sister?"

She consciously sighed. Not having the answer to that one she let herself dwell on the subject a little longer. Whenever someone came up to her and questioned her she almost imagined herself shooting the person. Almost imagined.

_This is going to take some getting used to._

Feeling the frustration building up in her again she sat listening to Alister and Zip who came to join them later on, questioning her again. All of which she chose to ignore and proceeded with wandering in her thoughts.

* * *

Standing statuesquely Ayra moved her gaze up, after standing for hours on end, staring at the holes in the building which had once been windows. The door had cracked in the middle but was still standing. The building was two stories tall; there was a small but noticeable dent in the bricks, some of which had fallen out. It almost looked like a dent made by someone being knocked into it. Which was exactly what had happened. Shoving the small amount of rocks in the way she made her way inside the house almost pulling the door off its hinges.

Although it had only been about four weeks since this place was abandoned there was an incredibly thick layer of dust on every visible surface. Walking in she felt a horrid scent travel up to her face. It almost smelt like blood. Her blood. It was one of the reasons she hadn't wanted to come but she had to see if the _inhabitant_ of the house had left. She didn't even consider calling the person human.

_He doesn't have the right to be called human. I am what I am today because of him._

At this thought she felt a stab of anger.

_Though I guess I should be thanking him. It helped me escape after all. I wonder where you are right now._

Feeling sickened by the scent the longer she stayed in the room, she left. Walking the long distance from here to Croft Manor certainly would help clear her mind.

* * *

AN/ I tried keeping the characters in character but I don't really know... so it's up to you to tell me! Constructive criticism is very welcome.


	4. Note

I posted this on my other stories as well but anyway, I'm writing this to those of you who like this and actually read it; I won't be updating for a while at least, as some people may have noticed. Anyway, sorry for that, been sick for a long time and a few problems of my own have been coming up a lot but I'll update whenever I get the chance (hopefully).

Thanks for bearing with me. The writer who doesn't update.


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